East Adams Library District getting creative in offering programs behind closed doors

RITZVILLE — Employees of the East Adams Library District in Ritzville have needed to get creative in how they offer their programs and services with the library doors still closed to the public due to the pandemic.

When the Ritzville Public Library was initially shut down in March, District Director Kylie Fullmer said, staff spent the first month or two figuring out how they could shift their programs to a virtual format for the first time. The staff wasn’t able to return to the building until Adams County reached Phase 2.

The library’s typical programs, including book clubs and kids programs, have had to be shifted to a virtual platform, while curbside pickups were offered for books, craft bags and “grab-and-go bags,” with craft bags for the kids programs being especially popular.

“Each week we do kind of a different activity, with everything from pipe cleaner rings to making fairy gardens,” Fullmer said. “Just little crafts to keep them engaged, and it’s all funded by donations we’ve had over the years. We’re able to use that money.”

Making the shift toward curbside pickup allowed the library to continue to serve its patrons in a safe manner. Word of mouth over the past few months has helped bring back a lot of people, Fullmer said.

“Doing that in a socially distant way, everybody’s safe, the staff and the patrons,” she said. “Then, we’re also trying to encourage people to take advantage of our online resources. We have an e-book catalog, online classes, just different things like that.”

Some of the district’s programs couldn’t necessarily be replicated online, such as movie showings, Fullmer said. However, she added, they were able to offer a new program, a weekly trivia night on Thursdays.

Fullmer said the staff had always tossed around the idea of partnering with a local bar for a trivia night, but never had the time. With the library’s doors closed, she said, one of her staff was able to put the event together to offer the trivia night on Facebook Live. Fullmer said the trivia night has brought in people they typically don’t see coming to the library.

Staff members were hesitant to jump in front of the camera when the library first started to move its programs to an online format, so Fullmer said she decided to take the first shot. After seeing the positive feedback the video received, she said, her staff began warming up to the process.

While not always popular when they’re live, weekly programs such as Page Turners Book Club and preschool story time pick up views in the first 24 hours after they’re posted. Fullmer said it’s nice having something to offer that people can come to on their own time.

“It’s really something we’ll probably continue to do even after the public is allowed to come back in and we’re allowed to restart programs,” she said. “We’ll probably continue to do something online just because we are able to reach people that, for whatever reason, aren’t able to make it to the library.” Millie Hopkins, youth services library assistant for the district, has been heavily involved in shifting the library’s youth programs online. Early on, Hopkins said, she noticed kids were dealing with a lot of “screen fatigue” after finishing up a few months of virtual learning.

“We tried doing Zoom stuff, but it wasn’t something they were interested in because they were doing it all the time,” Hopkins said.

Being able to offer kids something to do in a small community like Ritzville is important, especially with the local pool closed this summer, Hopkins said. She said kids typically live at the pool here in the summer.

“The pool is very important, and it’s closed,” Hopkins said. “It’s been, I’m sure, difficult for the kids. So that’s why we tried to provide what we can to keep them entertained, always suggesting activities.”

As someone who is used to spending her time around kids all day, Hopkins said it’s been tough because she misses seeing them. The East Adams Library District staff was able to see kids for a little while Aug. 6 when the library hosted its annual end-of-summer party.

Fullmer said she knew the library couldn’t have its typical party in the park with all of the restrictions, but staff still wanted to give the kid something before they head back to school. The staff landed on a socially-distanced ice cream event.

“It went really well,” Fullmer said. “It was fewer kids than we were expecting. We didn’t know what to expect with everything going on.”

About 30 kids came out for their free ice cream, enjoying the small obstacle course drawn in chalk as well. While it was smaller than their normal parties, Fullmer said, she and her staff were just excited to see everybody. She said she’s still not used to the quiet around the library the past few months, admitting they are not typically a “quiet library.”

Adjusting to everything has been stressful at times, Fullmer said, especially when it means shifting how you operate your business.

“We’re definitely seeing a lot of positive come out of it, a lot of ways that are making us think how we’ll deliver our programs and services in the future. I think it will make it more accessible for people,” she said.

The East Adams Library District employees in Ritzville said they’re confident the changes and shifts they’ve made will only help once they are able to welcome people back inside.